The City of Williams west of Flagstaff is in the process of drilling a new well. Like many places in the Southwest, it’s facing drought and rising demand. But there’s another reason water supply is a challenge in Williams. A fluke of geology has forced the city to take the lead in the hunt for groundwater on the Colorado Plateau.

KNAU and Arizona News

2:15 pm

Wed July 1, 2015

About 5,700 acres in the Dry Lake Hills near Flagstaff will be thinned as part of the Flagstaff Watershed Protection Project. Work will begin in 2016, but steep-slope treatments including helicopter and cable logging could begin as soon as 2017.

After an environmental analysis and a public comment period, Coconino National Forest managers have outlined the details of the Flagstaff Watershed Protection Project. As Arizona Public Radio’s Ryan Heinsius reports, it’s designed to prevent the effects of wildfire and flooding from threatening the city’s water supply.

KNAU and Arizona News

7:36 am

Wed July 1, 2015

Hundreds gathered below the stairs of an Arizona courthouse Tuesday to remember 19 wildland firefighters on the second anniversary of their deaths.

The Granite Mountain Hotshots has become a name that forever will be linked with the city of Prescott. Fire Marshal Don Devendorf told the crowd that the community is recovering and healing but not yet healed.

KNAU and Arizona News

8:31 am

Mon June 29, 2015

The Supreme Court on Monday upheld Arizona congressional districts drawn by an independent commission and rejected a constitutional challenge from Republican lawmakers.

The 5-4 outcome preserves efforts in 13 states to limit partisan influence in redistricting. Most notably, California uses an independent commission to draw electoral boundaries for its largest-in-the-nation congressional delegation.

Fri June 26, 2015

Honeybees have been in the news lately because they’re disappearing. They’re crucial to food production, but they’re not native to North America. Now some scientists are turning their attention to the importance and health of native pollinators. Researchers are using the elevation of the San Francisco Peaks to study how local insects might respond to a warming global climate.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has created a new online tool that identifies communities facing environmental health risks. Parts of northern Arizona are among the nation’s most vulnerable regions.